Haywood Sullivan, 72, Player And Later a Red Sox Owner

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN

Published: February 14, 2003

Haywood Sullivan, a onetime journeyman catcher who became a part owner and general manager of the Boston Red Sox in the franchise's turbulent years after the death in 1976 of the longtime owner Tom Yawkey, died Wednesday in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 72.

Sullivan, who lived in Naples, Fla., had a stroke, the Red Sox said.

Catching for four seasons with the Red Sox and three seasons with the Kansas City Athletics, Sullivan was mainly a backup. He managed for one season in the major leagues, finishing last with the 1965 Athletics, then worked in the Red Sox front office, helping General Manager Dick O'Connell build the 1967 and 1975 pennant-winners.

With financial assistance from Jean Yawkey, the widow of Tom Yawkey, Sullivan became one of three general partners of the Red Sox in May 1978, when the team and Fenway Park were sold by the Yawkey estate for $20.5 million.

''I came from nothing,'' Sullivan told The Boston Globe in 1994. ''I was a player in an era when you didn't ever go up to the front office. I moved along as a coach and a manager. But never in my wildest dreams did I feel I would be involved in ownership.''

Sullivan also served as general manager from October 1977 to February 1984, a time when Red Sox fans who had been yearning for a World Series championship since 1918 encountered new frustrations.

In Sullivan's first season as general manager, the Red Sox squandered a 14-game lead over the Yankees, then were beaten out for the divisional title on Bucky Dent's playoff home run.

Later, with Mrs. Yawkey, who was also a general partner, seeking to hold down salaries, the Red Sox failed to sign two of their best players. They lost catcher Carlton Fisk, a hero in New England, who went to the Chicago White Sox in 1981 after he was declared a free agent because Sullivan had failed to meet the deadline for a contract submission. They also traded the outfielder Fred Lynn to the Angels before the 1981 season.

By 1983, Red Sox ownership was embroiled in hostility. Mrs. Yawkey and Sullivan waged a legal battle against Buddy LeRoux, the third general partner, who had begun what ultimately became an unsuccessful effort to gain control.

A decade later, Sullivan departed the Red Sox ownership. He had invested $100,000 when he became a general partner in 1978, having also received a $1 million loan from Mrs. Yawkey to help finance his share of the ownership. In November 1993, a year after the death of Mrs. Yawkey, he sold his minority interest in the team to the Jean R. Yawkey Trust for an estimated $36 million to $45 million.

Haywood Cooper Sullivan, a Georgia native who grew up in Dothan, Ala., was an outstanding quarterback for the University of Florida before signing with the Red Sox organization in 1952. He was later hampered by back problems and caught in only 312 games during seven seasons with the Red Sox and the Athletics, retiring after the 1963 season with a career batting average of .226.

After managing the Athletics, he was hired as director of personnel and player development by the Red Sox, then was named general manager when Mrs. Yawkey fired O'Connell after the 1977 season.

After selling his Red Sox minority ownership in 1993, Sullivan became a real estate developer in Fort Myers. The Red Sox said he is survived by his wife, Patricia; two sons, Marc, a former Red Sox catcher, and Kyle; a daughter, Sharon; and 10 grandchildren.

While serving as the Red Sox general manager in the first years of free agency, Sullivan expressed a yearning for times past, for the days when he was a player and agents had yet to take over contract negotiations.

''I like the clubhouse relationships,'' he remarked in 1981, the year that Fisk and Lynn departed. ''I like the days when everyone had a good time around baseball.''